| CHICO,
CA (4-28-06) - Oroville
driver Sean Becker led all 20 laps to win the first sprint
car race of the year at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
Becker, who debuted in a brand new ride owned by Tom
Fisher and Kyle Main of Grass Valley, drove the #35m JEI
chassis from the pole position to his first win of the
year. The car was flawless on the track from expert set-up
crew chief Lee Watson. After the race Becker was asked
about the great start with this team. He responding by
saying, “We can’t think this is going to happen every
week and need to continue and work hard. If this team
continues to give a ‘smuck’ like me a car like this,
we should be just fine this year.” For his win, Becker
and team collected $2,000, thanks in part to Withrow's
Motorsports and JP's Paint and Body in Chico.
A total of 32 sprint cars
showed up for opening night of the Feather Falls Casino
Friday night series. Qualifying was fiercely contested but
in the end it was Chico’s Jonathan Allard electrifying
the packed grandstands with a time of 11.477, just
narrowly missing his record lap of 11.307 set last season.
Yuba City driver Korey
Lovell earned the tough distinction of becoming the first
rollover victim at the speedway in 2006. Lovell took a
nasty tumble in heat race number on while trying to slow
down after a yellow flag was needed. Lovell jumped a right
rear and sent him off on his tough ride. Chico’s Johnny
Gray started in the second row and passed Marysville
driver Jeremy Phillips for the win in the Nor Cal
Performance heat one.
Heat race two featured The
Rocklin Rocket Robert Ballou and he showcased
his upside as a young driver. He dominated the eight-lap
affair in his Darin Smith prepared Maxim Chassis.
Chico driver Stephen Allard
showed why Duke and Scott McMillen chose him as their new
driver when he started in the third row of heat three and
won the race.
Chico’s Troy Hovey was
the only driver able to win from the pole of a heat race.
This local driver has the talent to compete for a top spot
in the Friday night championship.
Sacramento’s Kyle Hirst
dominated the B main event. Hirst, who flipped in his heat
race, made the necessary repairs to continue and make the
feature event. Colfax driver Colby Weisz, Grey Eagle
veteran Jim Richardson and Oroville’s Destiney Hays each
followed Hirst into the feature event.
Becker led the 20
car-starting field to the green flag. He led Iowa driver
Dennis Moore Jr. into turn one. Johnny Gray’s night
turned soar when he road up over a wheel down the back
straight and flipped end over end. He was stirred and
shaken but finally walked away with a slight limp. Racing
resumed until lap two when a three-car tangle slowed the
race. Becker’s main advantage was on restarts. His
driving style and the car setup seemed to be a match made
in heaven. Becker gained a four-car length advantage on
most restarts. Traffic played a role in the next few laps
when Becker went to the top of the track searching for
some grip. This allowed Moore to continue on the bottom
and sneak by for the lead. However, going into turn one
Moore stayed on the bottom and got bottled up by a slower
car. Becker drove harder and higher into the turn and took
the lead back. It was the winning moment. Becker benefited
from a few more cautions that cleared the track ahead of
him and allowed him to have clear sailing. Moore Jr. held
on for second but was hotly contested by Jonathan Allard.
It was a good finish for the Morrie Williams owned cars.
Stephen Allard finished in the fourth position while Hirst
finished in fifth. Brett Rollag was the night’s most
outstanding driver vying for this season’s rookie of the
year award. He finished sixth.
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